Chart-Climbing Somali Rapper Defends Pirates

Somali rapper K'Naan is oftenprofiled for his inspiring story, his uplifting lyrics, and his radio-ready hit "Wavin' Flag,"
embedded above, which crept onto the U.S. Billboard chart at #99. K'Naan, who fled the country as a teenager, is a harsh
critic of violent extremists plaguing Somalia -- perhaps little
surprise given that al-Shabaab, the radical group often compared to
al-Qaeda, forbids music and often murders musicians.

K'Naan
does, however, voice a measure of sympathy for the pirates off Somalia's coasts, arguing that the
rest of the world abuses Somalia and pollutes its coastline. Somali
piracy is a growing problem with global scope: 2009 saw 214 attacks, 22% of which resulted in hijacking or worse. Pirates are estimated
to currently hold 270 hostages in all. K'Naan argues, in his music and
in interviews, that the rest of the world misunderstands piracy and the
war-torn Somalia it comes from. From his song "Somalia," which is
embedded above:

I'm not particularly proud of this predicament butI'm born and bred in this tenement, I'm sentimental, what?Plus it's only right to represent my hood and what notSo I'm about to do it in the music in the movies

Cut to the chase pan across the face, I'm right thereFreeze frame on the street name, oops, wait a minuteThis is where the streets have no name and the drain of sewageYou can see it in this boy how the hate is brewing

So what you know about the pirates terrorize the oceanTo never know a simple day without a big commotionIt can't be heavy just to live with such steep emotionAnd when I try to sleep, I see coffins closing

In
an interview with music journalist Davey D, K'Naan argues that Somalis
don't see the pirates as criminals. "Whenever Somalis get together and
talk about pirates, we talk about them as if they're coast guards of
the country. We don't talk about them as this evil kind of group that's
disturbing European trade, which we don't really care about too much."
He says that the international community has not demonstrated political
or environmental concern for Somalia and that piracy is Somalia's means
of expressing some scant sovereignty and control over its waters. He
cites illegal fishing and dumping of waste.